Warriors: I Don't Want to Love You
by Petalwish
Summary: Two toms, from the same Clan, just trying to fit in. To find love in a world where having a mate of the opposite sex is just natural. But Lichenpaw can't shake the feelings he has for Grasspaw, and Grasspaw can't shake them off about Lichenpaw. Will these two cats come together, or will they just act like they have never noticed each other?
1. Prologue

Prologue ~

The air, heavy with the smells of lust and devotion; their breathing, ragged and broken like glass as they fought to control it; their eyes, locked like the sun and moon, each rotating with emotions neither of them could quite grasp fully.

"You're just so divine... So mesmerizing."

His rough, labored voice husky in his ear, stirring the fur within it and making it twitch in response.

"Why did you - we, for that matter - do this, Lichenfang?"

He smiled and hopped away from his partner, pacing back and forth with his tail lashing in the air. "I... I don't know, Grasstooth. I really don't know."

"It can't happen again," Grasstooth meowed softly as he rose to his paws, stopped his partner with his tail and looked into Lichenfang's pure golden eyes. It was the eyes that had attracted Grasstooth to him, the other being his strong sense of humor and demeanor. The powerful brown tabby warrior never backed down from a fight if it meant protecting the ones he loved.

It was those things that made Grasstooth fall in love with him in the first place.

Grasstooth looked deep into Lichenfang's eyes. Then, with a voice softer than a bird flapping its wings, he said, "But it will happen again, won't it?"

Sorrowfully, Lichenfang nodded.

"And there's nothing we can do, is there?"

Again, Lichenfang nodded. "I mean, unless... Unless you want to not be with me."

"What?" Grasstooth fiercely pressed his muzzle against his lover's, allowing the mushed fur to combine into one. "You're crazy, Lichenfang. I will always want to be with you..."

"I know," Lichenfang purred, raising his muzzle from Grasstooth's and touching his nose to the pale gray tabby's warmly. "I know that very well..."

"I am yours," Grasstooth meowed softly, twining his tail with Lichenfang's and swiping his tongue over the brown tabby's ear, making him purr.

"And you are mine..." Lichenfang meowed, closing his eyes and drifting into a blissful world of want, need, memorization, and simply... Grasstooth, the cat he so desperately loved.

***cough, cough* Can you say CRAPPY PROLOGUE? I certainly can! **

**~Ben and Nikki :3**


	2. Chapter One

**Welcome one and all to the first chapter of Warriors: I Don't Want to Love You! This chapter is written by Ben, with some help from the author CuriousQuill, who did very well in adding some description during this chapter! Thank so much, Curious! **

_One ~ First Person, Grasspaw's POV..._

Warm, golden sunlight filtered through the densely woven ferns of the apprentices' den, pooling onto my fur and heating me from nose to tail. It was glorious, and I flexed my claws, stretching, reveling in the purity of the light. Closing my eyes, a flash of dark tabby fur blocked my senses for a moment. My heart skipped a beat; he had been so close, so near to my touch, I could almost taste his scent on my tongue.

I padded outside and gazed around the camp, soaking in the busy-ness. Incoming patrols were greeted warmly by the Clan, swift licks to ear were exchanged, and then new patrols exited with high tails. Everything was as it should have been. I plucked a robin from the fresh-kill pile, its glossy red feathers gleaming in the sunrise, and settled beside the apprentices' den. The dream still lingered in my mind, that one scene repeating itself over and over: he was standing on the moorland, the sunset casting a blood red shadow on his pelt.

Ah, yes; it's the pelt that I remember, that I acknowledge first.

The soft elegance in his stature, the grace in his walk, follows.

But his eyes; oh, his eyes. They mesmerize me to my very core. They're a deep shade, a mixture of dark, piercing amber and warm honey gold, all swirled into one. It's crisp, like leaves in the last half-moon before leaf-bare. It's that gaze that makes me weak on my paws.

I gulp down the rest of my robin and lick the down from my muzzle, glancing around the camp. My breath suddenly caught in my throat, choking me. There he was, across the camp, carefully placing a rabbit on the fresh-kill pile. And here I am, waiting for my mentor to finish organizing the morning patrols. Being the apprentice of the Clan deputy has its drawbacks, let me tell you. He had an ordinary warrior as his mentor. I bit back a sigh. If only my mentor were someone ordinary, his mentor's mate perhaps. Then we could always train together ...

"Hey, Grasspaw."

I lock up, my muscles tightening and coiling into the form of a crouch as he says my name. For a moment I'm shocked that he's even near me, as he's been an apprentice for nearly a moon and I've only just begun my training.

I swallow hard; perhaps I'm nervous... afraid, even. "U-um, hi... Lichenpaw."

Just stuttering his name makes my heart flutter in my chest.

His lively copper eyes lock onto my dull, browny-green ones. "It looks like my dad isn't going to stop sending out patrols anytime soon, so... Blacktooth and I are going out hunting again. I guess all the elders and queens snagged all the best prey, huh?" The last few words escaped as a light purr. The tip of my tail twitched in amusement and frustration. I want to feel his smooth muscles against mine, to entwine my tail with his. This growing affection and admiration has threatened to overflow, but for now, I must stay calm.

I threw a quick glance over Lichenpaw's shoulder at my mentor, Bearclaw, who also happened to be his father. The powerful brown tabby stood under the Highledge, answering the many questions that were being tossed in his direction.

His son looks exactly like him; the dark tabby fur, the majestic stance, the dark amber stare. It's exceedingly awkward, for whenever I attempt to talk to him, I almost always see Lichenpaw. My words get so choked up that all I can do is mumble a fleeting "sorry" and dash away.

With a sharp pain making its way into my heart, I snapped foolishly back at him. "I think I'll just wait for my mentor, thanks."

His eyes flashed, and I immediately felt a stab of regret. Was that hurt in his eyes? Perhaps even sadness? I decided to go with the latter and figured I had hurt his feelings rather than made him saddened by my hasty reply.

Lichenpaw flicked his tail harshly against the wind that blew into his pelt. The harsh breeze forced his pelt against his strong frame, exposing the muscles and divine features beneath all the matted fur. I forced back a purr. _Quit it, mouse-brain! You'll ruin it and accidentally tell him how you feel! Then where will you be?_

"Well, okay then... I guess I'll see you later, Grasspaw." Lichenpaw's pelt brushed mine slightly as he padded away from me, and over to where Blacktooth was waiting with some other apprentices and mentors.

"Grasspaw!"

I turned at the sound of my name and found Bearclaw standing at my side, his yellow-amber eyes, much like his sons, were gleaming with amusement and curiosity. "You ready to go training?"

I suddenly beamed with an idea in my head. "Actually... I was thinking we should go hunting... I've got most of my battle moves down, so -"

"There's still a lot you need to learn in battle, Grasspaw." Bearclaw mewed.

I ignored his comment and continued. "Can we go hunting? I'm sure every other mentor and apprentice are at the training hollow! There's probably no one out hunting!"

Bearclaw tipped his head to the side for a heartbeat or two, obviously pondering my offer. "You could be right, actually..." He straightened and flicked his tail. "All right, but just this one time. After hunting we're going to battle train, whether you like it or not."

I broke into a smile and let out an excited purr as I raced out of camp after my mentor.

That was just fine with me.


	3. Chapter Two

_Two ~ First Person, Lichenpaw's POV:_

Grasspaw had been the last cat I wanted to be seen battle training with. I just hoped, for my own sanity, that my mother or sister wouldn't come through the bushes and see me being beaten by some puny apprentice who hadn't even seen a real battle.

Having my father, Bearclaw, there with Grasspaw and myself was already horrible. I didn't need my entire family there to witness it.

"Grasspaw, honestly!"

I snapped out of my daze to hear my father shouting at the pale gray tom. A smirk formed on my muzzle at the shy and scared look on his face. He hadn't seen the worst of Bearclaw, and from the looks of my fathers bristling pelt it wouldn't be long until he did.

"I-I'm sorry!" Grasspaw stammered, ears flat to his head and his green eyes wide.

"You're supposed to sweep under the cat, not leap on top of him!" Bearclaw growled, lashing his tail. "That's one of the most foolish things you could ever do in battle!"

The smirk on my face grew wider. Seeing my father yell and hiss at a cat that wasn't me for once, well... It was completely surprising.

Grasspaw, much to my surprise, actually rose to his paws and stared Bearclaw down. "You shouldn't have let me do it until it was the end of the session! You should have stopped me right on the spot!"

The scrap had a point.

"I wanted to find out if you could see the mistake you had made," Bearclaw stated simply, sitting on the ground and wrapping his tail around his paws. "Obviously, you hadn't seen it -"

"Which was wrong on your part, Grasspaw." I meowed, raising my chin to meet his defiant green gaze. "Because you should have seen it, and that way you could have quickly changed direction and swung at me once I threw you off."

Grasspaw snorted in response and I felt my claws slide from their places in between my toes. I let out a growl and leapt at him, watching as he quickly darted out of the way to avoid my attack. I watched, chuckling to myself, as he scrambled up a tree and watched me from his perch.

"You can run," I taunted, racing towards the tree he happened to be in and gripping it with my claws, hoisting myself up inch by inch. "But you can't hide!" It wasn't long before I was facing him once more, my golden-amber gaze narrowing upon his swampy green. I leapt at him again, this time managing to snag my claws onto his pelt before he leapt onto another branch. This one was farther than the one we had been on, and when he jumped one of my claws went with him, still snagged in his pelt. I hissed in pain and bared my teeth, ignoring the searing pain in my paw and leaping onto the branch, swiftly jumping from that to the next after Grasspaw.

It wasn't long before he and I were on the ground, panting from our ordeal. "I... Totally got... You!"

"Shut... Up, Lichenpaw..." Grasspaw groaned and rose to his paws, shaking out his gray fur and making leaves drift off of it and fall onto the ground. He swallowed harshly and spoke directly to Bearclaw. "How was that?"

My father's gaze flashed for a moment and he unwrapped his tail from around his paws, studying me and my comrade carefully. "You did well, Grasspaw." He flicked his tail and twitched his ear in my direction, adding, "You as well, Lichenpaw. Come now, it's time to go back to camp. Blacktooth's already there waiting."

I shoved past Grasspaw and nudged him with my shoulder roughly, hearing him hiss in annoyance. "Come on, scrap. We've got dawn patrol tomorrow and I don't want to be waking you up again."

"That was only one time!" Grasspaw mewed indignantly, and I rolled my eyes, my whiskers twitching in amusement.

"Don't make it twice, then." With a final flick of my ears I raced back in the direction of camp, leaving the pale gray tom back behind me without a second glance.

**_~~Grasspaw~~_**

The clearing was dark when I came through the entrance. I had spent time hunting on the way back, even though my mentor and his oh-so-confident son had already left me to fend for myself.

I let out a small hiss as I set my mouse, rabbit, and shrew on the diminished food pile, knowing all good and well I was probably on hunting duty for dawn patrol tomorrow.

I just hoped, for StarClan's sake and my own, that I wasn't to be paired with Lichenpaw.

"What are you doing out so late, Grasspaw? Shouldn't you be in the apprentices den, asleep?"

I leapt away from the pile, startled out of my fur. Twitching my ears and opening my mouth to taste the air, I caught the warm and fresh scent of my mother, Swanleap.

Swanleap padded forward so she could focus her eyes on mine, her gray-and-white tabby pelt turning silver and white in the light of the moon. I noticed that starlight flecked my own pelt, dropping down and shining like rain.

"I went night hunting, mother." I meowed, my pelt growing hot from shame.

Her green eyes, much like my own, flashed with disbelief yet her voice was calm and silky as she spoke. "Grasspaw. I know you, and no son of mine has ever gone hunting at night."

"I'm your only son, Mother..."

"Precisely why I won't allow this to happen again," Swanleap's eyes were glimmering with worry for my safety, yet the emotions were covered by humor. "Now, go get some rest, Grasspaw." She nudged me with her nose, her eyes shining with love for me, the only kit in any of her litters to survive.

I purred and rubbed muzzles with my mother before trotting off to the apprentices den, slipping inside unnoticed. Lichenpaw's soft snoring made my ears twitch, but I ignored the urge to place myself right beside him and went to my own nest, settling myself down in it. I wrapped my tail over my nose and closed my eyes, trying to get Lichenpaw's golden-amber eyes out of my head.

A warm paw was suddenly placed on my flank, and I turned to find Lichenpaw beside me, his soft breathing stirring my ear fur. I let out a small purr and didn't bother to move his paw as I closed my eyes once more, tucked my nose under my tail and fell into the comfort of sleep.

_**Boring, I know. But the chapters are going to be like this until about chapter five or six... Sorry guys!**_

_**With life and love,**_

_**~Nikki and Ben :)**_


	4. Chapter Three

_Three ~ First Person, Grasspaw's POV..._

Timid and quietly, I stalked towards my prey that I had been wanting to catch all morning. It was nearly sunrise, and many of the cats that had been on dawn patrol had already gone back to camp.

I unsheathed my claws, crouched lower and to ground and -

"I bet you miss it!"

I growled as the squirrel pricked its ears, lashed its bushy tail and scurried up a tree, a few berries and nuts stuffed in its cheeks.

I turned to find - who else? - Lichenpaw sitting a couple tail lengths away from me, his entire body shaking with laughter.

I hissed and shoved away the urge to run at him, pin him down, and express my feelings for him right then and there. Instead, I lashed my tail and growled, "What was that for?"

"Entertainment, dear Grasspaw." Lichenpaw purred sarcastically, padding slowly towards me. Once he was within pawing range he reached upward and pawed the top of my head, ruffling the fur. "See? Now you look like a hedgehog."

I hissed and licked one of my paws, drawing it upward and smoothing the fur down. "I hate you, you know."

"Oh, don't be like that!" Lichenpaw's golden-amber eyes were glimmering with laughter. A smile appeared on his muzzle. "And I hate you, too."

"Glad we're on the same page, mouse-brain." I fought back the urge to press my pelt against his, to feel his tail entwining with mine and shoved past him roughly, knocking him to the ground.

The scent of lavender, honey, and pine needles clung to my pelt the entire way back to camp. I forced myself to not notice it, even if it was hard to do.

_He can't be in my head... He just can't be... His scent shouldn't be on my pelt... I shouldn't love him!_

_But you do, _my mind retorted. _You always have, Grasspaw. And you're such a fool for loving a tom._

_**~~Lichenpaw~~**_

"I cannot believe you, Lichenpaw! Why would you leave the battle training area to go hunting with _him_?"

I flattened my ears to my head and rolled my eyes. I really hated getting lectured by my parents, but being lectured by my own sister? That was about ten times worse.

"I get it, Furzepaw... Okay? I won't do it again..."

My sisters amber eyes were full of panic and her pale brown pelt was ruffled, as if she had thought I had been fighting a fox all by myself. "You'd better not," she warned, flicking her ears in the direction of our parents. "Or next time they'll know, not just me. You're lucky I'm not even going over there and blabbering the whole story to them..."

"Thank you for that, Furzepaw." I meowed and touched my nose to her ear. "You're a good sister."

"Great StarClan, stop making a scene..." She grumbled and lightly shook me off. Her eyes were shining with love, yet her tone was annoyed.

"Sorry," I purred and touched my tail-tip to her shoulder. "I'm -"

"Lichenpaw!"

Furzepaw's eyes flickered over my shoulder before back to me. She murmured a quick, "Have fun, bro! I've got to go... Clean my nest!" and scurried off to chat with some other apprentices.

_Thanks, sis._

"What's her deal?" Grasspaw muttered, coming to stand at my left. I groaned inwardly and shuffled away from him, feeling awkward and odd standing even within a mouse-length of him. "She's acting like she doesn't want to be near me!"

_I know the feeling all too well... _I thought but shoved the urge to say it directly to him away. "Uh..." I racked my brain for something to say. "W-why are you over here, Grasspaw?"

His swampy green gaze focused on me. "What, can't a cat talk to a fellow apprentice such as yourself?"

"I guess you can... I mean, it's just that we've never really... Had a casual conversation before..."

Grasspaw snorted, as of what I had said was meant to be comical. "Well, now we can." His gaze flitted across the clearing, as if he thought cats were overhearing our conversation. "But not here... C-can we go out into the forest?"

My whiskers twitched at the awkward tone in his voice. "Sure, I guess. But it's almost moonhigh, so we've got to be back soon."

His eyes flashed with hope. "I promise we won't be long!" Without another word he dashed off into the forest. Confused and slightly afraid, I followed reluctantly.

He actually didn't go very far from camp, much to my surprise.

I was laying on my back, staring up at the sky. Grasspaw was beside me, sitting up and looking straight ahead. Silence stood between us like a third cat.

I finally decided to break it. "Grasspaw... Why'd you want to come out here?"

He blinked for a moment, but didn't turn to face me as he answered. "I just wanted to come out here... I guess I don't like being out of camp by myself." He flashed a shy smile in my direction.

"You told me you wanted to talk," I said, rising to my paws and facing him. "So spill it, Grasspaw."

His breathing hitched, as if he was choking on air. "I-I don't have anything to say," he stammered.

I rolled my eyes. "Liar."

I felt my pelt grow hot from awkwardness as I finally noticed he had been looking at me. "Why are you staring at me like some kind of creep?" I objected, a growl rising in my throat.

He flashed another shy smile, and my growl dissolved. "Because you're mesmerizing."

I gulped in air, trying to calm myself. "W-what?"

Grasspaw's eyes flashed and he tucked his ears against his head, looking down at his paws. "I-I'm sorry, Lichenpaw... I hadn't meant to say that..." He looked at me with tears in his eyes and flashed another smile, this one full of hurt and shame in himself. "False hope and a lost cause, I guess..."

He rose to his paws and began to pad toward camp.

"Grasspaw..." I murmured against the wind, hoping my call would reach him.

But he was already gone.


	5. Chapter Four

**_Please excuse the shortness of this chapter. Ben hasn't had time to finish Grasspaw's part in the chapter, so I improvised and finished it for him. _**

**_~Nikki _**

_Four ~ First Person, Grasspaw's POV..._

I was sitting with Furzepaw, Larkpaw, Snakepaw and Burrowpaw when Lichenpaw finally came through the camp entrance. He didnt even give me a glance as he padded towards the fresh-kill pile, snagged a shrew off the top and settled down in the shade of an oak tree.

"What's up with him?" Larkpaw wondered aloud.

I looked at the dark gray dapple she-cat just as Furzepaw shrugged her shoulders and flicked her tail. "He's Lichenpaw. He does this type of thing."

"Doesn't he know..."

I didn't hear any more of Burrowpaw's remark. I was propelled forward by my paws towards Lichenpaw against my own will. I had to talk with him. I had to know if what I had said meant anything to him.

"Hey, Lichenpaw..." I murmured quietly.

He flicked his ear but didn't look up. He sank his teeth into his shrew, ripping meat off and chewing rapidly.

"Um... I-I wanted to t-talk about what I said back there..." I felt shame and dissapointment wash over me like a wave.

Lichenpaw swallowed and looked up at me, his golden-amber eyes seeming to pierce my soul. "What about it?" His tone was emotionless, robot-like.

I looked around the camp awkwardly, keeping my focus on anything but those golden-amber eyes I always got lost in. "Everything about it, I guess."

He immediately rose to his paws and flicked his tail. "Let's go back out into the forest," He meowed. "I don't want any cat hearing this stuff either."

Without another word he dashed off into the forest. With hope in my heart and curiosity burning within my veins I raced after him.

**~~Lichenpaw~~**

"So," I meowed calmly once we had gone deep into the heart of our territory. My tail was wrapped around my paws and my eyes were alert and focused on Grasspaw's body movements; he kept shifting his haunches and flicking his tail, and I knew he was nervous. "What did you -"

"I-I'm sorry, Lichenpaw!" Grasspaw suddenly sputtered.

I stared at him, a soft tone in my voice as I spoke again. "Grasspaw -"

"I-I didn't mean to say that, Lichenpaw! I promise I hadn't meant to say it... I-it just kinda slipped out and -"

"Grasspaw!" A purr of amusement rose in my throat at the guilty look on his face. "Stop apologizing, really."

"I just feel so bad!" His eyes flashed as he saw how annoyed I looked, and he flattened his ears against his head. "Sorry, Lichenpaw. Go on..."

"What I was going to say," I meowed, flicking my tail for silence when he opened his jaws to speak again. "It's fine, Grasspaw. Really, you don't have to feel bad anymore. I was just shocked at first that you'd said it so suddenly that I didn't have time to react."

"S-so what does that mean?" Grasspaw mewed quietly, his eyes cast down at his paws and his ears still flat to his head.

"What it means," I mewed, padding forward and guiding his gaze back to mine with my tail. "Is that I think you're mesmerizing too, Grasspaw." I flashed a shy smile his way, and he blushed slightly.

He suddenly leaned forward and licked my muzzle, his swampy green eyes gleaming with a warm light known as love.

Wirhout a second thought, I myself leaned forward and touched my nose to his warmly, a purr rising inside of me. "Grasspaw..." I murmured against his muzzle, knowing my breath was tickling his whiskers by the way they twitched when I spoke. "What do we do now?"

"We stay here," He murmured, twining his tail with mine before lightly pinning me down on the ground so I was staring up at him. "We stay here... Forever."

"Forever is all I need..." I purred and allowed something dark to take over me as I feel into a world full of bliss.

**Okay, that last part was sort of lemon-ish. Sorry! That's actually how Ben and I confessed our love, really. Not with that ending, though. XD **

**I've got to go visit Ben in the hospital... My poor guy has been throwing up constantly for the last three days and he was just admitted into our local hospital yesterday. **

**With life and love,**

**~Nikki :) **


	6. Chapter Five

_Five ~ First Person, Lichenpaw's POV:_

_"They're over here! Come on!" _

I shot upward into a sitting position, my ears pricked and my mouth open to scent the air. I let out a growl and a small hiss at the scents I could seem to find: Lynxfire, Blossomtail, Swanleap, and of course, no one else but Furzepaw.

I turned my head and found Grasspaw laying beside me, his peaceful features soft and content as he slept. I nudged him with a paw once, twice, three times. Nothing. Cursing to StarClan under my breath I nudged him harshly with my nose, sending him rolling lazily onto his stomach.

He finally blinked open his swampy green eyes and looked up at me. He let out a purr and his eyes were glowing with sleep and love. "Morning there, Lichenpaw." He purred.

I forced myself not to do the same greeting. "No time for purrs and kind words, Grasspaw. We've got cats looking for us; an entire patrol, even."

His body was a gray blur in my eyes as he swiftly rose to his paws. "Who? Whose all looking for us?"

I flicked an ear modestly. "Lynxfire, Swanleap, Blossomtail and Furzepaw."

"My _parents_ and _sister_?" Grasspaw flattened his ears against his head and hissed words to StarClan. "Come on, then! No time to waste!"

Together, we both took off into the morning light, our bodies dancing across the horizon that shimmered with the rays of the dawning sun.

**~~Grasspaw~~**

"Hey, Grasspaw?"

I turned to him then, looking into his golden-amber eyes. Great StarClan how I loved those eyes; the prefect blend of sunset and sunrise, all mixed in an abundance only he could pull off. "Yeah, Lichenpaw?"

He looked at his paws, avoiding my gaze. His ears, tucked against his head, giving away the clear fact that he was frightened out of his fur. His muzzle, open one moment and closed the next, as if he had something to say, yet the moment he wanted to say what was on his mind... It just died.

"Lichenpaw," I murmured, padding the two pawstep distance between us and pushing my muzzle against his. I sighed against the soft and enticing pelt of my lover, wanting to feel my body curled against his, our tails twined in love, in devotion...

Lichenpaw let out a sigh as well. Only his, usually filled with happiness and life, was now dull and flickered with sorrow every now and then. "T-This can't happen between us, Grasspaw..."

I nodded in silent and painful agreement. "I know."

"We'll get in huge trouble... Possibly even exiled."

"Would that be so bad?"

He removed his warm pelt from mine, allowing cold air to flow between us like a third soul. "Of course it would be bad! Do you know how foolish my parents will seem if they exile their own kit? Do you have any idea how betrayed your parents will feel, including mine?"

My eyes flashed at the mention of my parents. Lichenpaw's flashes as well, but in a horror type of way. "I-I'm sorry, Grasspaw." He said, twitching his tail-tip. "But I can't be with you, at least not -"

"Not right now." I replied hotly, feeling anger seethe in my belly. "I get it."

"That's not what I intended -"

"I don't care!" I shouted, my pelt bristling. "Sorry isn't going to take back the words that just came from you, Lichenpaw! My parents don't even care for me! I doubt they'd feel the slightest bit of guilt and hurt if I were exiled! They'd probably just laugh in my face!"

"Swanleap and Lynxfire? They're the nicest cats in the entire Clan!"

"Maybe to you," I said, my voice cracking and breaking like my heart in that moment. I felt numb. I felt like I was fading from existence; from life; from myself. "But not to me, Lichenpaw."

The brown tabby let out a sad purr and touched his nose to mine. Despite my previous anger, I too let out a purr of my own. I couldn't be mad at Lichenpaw; it wasn't his fault he was trying to keep the family bloodline in tact.

Together, we lay down beside one another on the sandy shore of the lakeside. "Forever?" I asked Lichenpaw.

He flashed a smile, twined his tail with mine, and lay his head on my shoulder. "Always."

I purred, he purred.

And for at least a little while, we were both happy.

It was only until a few heartbeats later, when Lichenpaw suddenly convulsed that I knew something was wrong.

And we only had a few minutes to fix it until he was gone.

_**Ugh, sorry for not updating in a few days, everyone. Ben's been really sick, and... And it looks bad. Like he-may-not-live-another-five-months bad because doctors found a huge tumor in his brain... **_

_**It's been tough these last few days on Ben. But he wants you all to know that he loves each and every one of you. And if this is his last day on Earth, his dying wish is to see some of you making tributes to him about cancer... All of you can do it, if you wish. He doesn't care... He just wants to know he's loved. Because right now, he doesn't feel loved by anyone but me. **_

_**He... He and I have married a month early in preparation that he may not live to see our wedding day. But that's okay, in my eyes. **_

_**Its okay because I know he'll be in a better place. And although it breaks my heart, I know he won't be suffering anymore... **_

_**Just let Ben... My lover, your friend, the best author there ever was on FanFiction in my eyes... Just make him feel loved tonight, guys. **_

_**With life and love, **_

_**~Nikolas and Bennett Lippens. **_


	7. Chapter Six

_Six ~ Grasspaw's POV:_

I felt like I was dying.

In fact, I knew I was.

My chest burned in a way I never thought possible. I never thought a cat such as myself, with so much to live for could die in such a short time.

But this was my destiny; it had been for seasons now.

I could hear him, shouting my name. I could feel his tongue rasping along my ears, my body... He knew the end was near. I could sense it.

He knew I would die here. This is the reason why he didn't move me from the place, why he didn't bring me back to camp... Why he didn't try and get help to save me.

He knew I would die here. He knew it all along, and I had a feeling that was why he had brought me to this place beside the shoreline.

Yet, my attempts to get him to bring me back, to help me, to save me... All failed because of my destiny. All because of what StarClan felt was best for me...

_Curse you, StarClan... _I thought hotly as my breathing shortened, my heart slowed, and finally my world went black. _Curse you..._

**_~~Lichenpaw~~_**

When the clearing went silent, I knew he was gone.

Grasspaw, my lover... My one, my only... My forever, was gone.

And I did nothing - _nothing _- to try and save him.

I just sat there like an mouse-brain, watching him. Watching his breathing patterns stutter and become shallower than the last each time he sucked in a breath... Feeling his heart slow to not even a murmur of pumping blood to the rest of his body as I lay next to him all that time... Watching, heartbroken and lost, as his eyes dulled, the light that was usually held within them died, and his breathing slowed to a stop.

And he, along with my soul, my being... Died.

He was my everything. Now, I had nothing.

I was alone.

"You told me forever..." I whispered against his soft fur. It was growing cold, its once humble atmosphere and warm texture dying along with the rest of him and now slowly reeking of death and loss. "You promised me forever..."

And slowly, inch by inch, centimeter by centimeter, a voice I knew all too well responded to me:

"Always, my love. Always..."

_**~~Grasspaw~~**_

I watched as he turned, his eyes gleaming with hope that I had not left him. He looked around, frantic, as he tried to pinpoint where I just so happened to be.

"Grasspaw!" My heart tore in two at the way his voice cracked when he spoke my name. "Come back to me! You can't leave!"

I watched as the four others - Swanleap, Lynxfire, Blossomtail and Furzepaw - each entered the clearing, halting in their tracks when they saw Lichenpaw sobbing and calling my name to the sky.

Swanleap's horrific scream echoed through the air and I tucked my ears back against my head. She and Lynxfire ran to my side, shoving Lichenpaw away from me with a snarl of hatred. Blossomtail followed, while Furzepaw just stood there, rigid in place.

My mother nudged me with her nose; the same thing she used to do to me when I was a kit to get me to wake up in the morning. "Grasspaw... My only son..." she murmured against my muzzle, and I felt her breath tickle my whiskers, even as a spirit.

My father stood silent next to my mother, wrapping his tail around her. I watched, heartbroken, as Swanleap dug her muzzle into his chest and cried her sorrows into him. "Our son is gone..." Lynxfire whispered solemnly, his eyes brimmed with tears.

"I'll never be a mother again..." Swanleap's muffled sob rang clear in my ears. "He was our last kit..."

"And now he's gone..." Blossomtail's body was shaking with sobs. "Oh, little brother... Y-You're gone..."

I tore my attention away from my family to where Furzepaw and Lichenpaw sat. Furzepaw was whispering calming things in Lichenpaw's ear, yet the tom's sorrowful and reddened eyes were distracted. He and his sister suddenly rose to their paws and padded away from my family. With my family's sobs still ringing through the air, I followed them.

They stopped at a shallow bank of water. I could catch snippets of the conversation:

"Are you okay, Lichenpaw?"

I watched as my lover, my everything, shook his head. I watched a tear fall from his eye and land on the sand beneath his paws when he spoke. "No. I've lost him, Furzepaw. I've lost the one cat who loved me..."

"I love you, Lichenpaw." Furzepaw murmured quietly, licking his ear comfortingly.

"It's not the same with you, Furzepaw," Lichenpaw's eyes closed and tears flowed from the surface. "G-Grasspaw's g-gone, and I-I c-can't get h-him back!"

Furzepaw's eyes flashed with sorrow for Lichenpaw. "I know, Lichenpaw... I know how heartbroken you are right now, brother... But just think: He's in a better place. At least he isn't suffering anymore."

"S-Suffering?" The question seemed to exit Lichenpaw as though he'd never heard of the term. "W-What do you m-mean?"

Furzepaw sighed, her ears flat against her head. "Grasspaw had a heart condition, Lichenpaw... A really bad one at that. Blossomtail told me that he's had it ever since he was a kit, and that's why he can't run very fast or catch a lot of prey because his heart always falters every now and then. I-I guess..." She trailed off, collecting her thoughts and keeping tears at bay. "I-I guess this time, it was fatal."

Lichenpaw sank harshly to the ground, sobs racking his body. "I j-just want t-the cat I-I loved b-back!"

"I know you do," Furzepaw said softly. "But you can't bring him back, unfortunately." She rose to her paws and touched her nose to Lichenpaw's ear. "I'm going to gather the others and send them back to camp... Come when you're ready. I'm sure Hazelstar will allow you some alone time with Grasspaw." With that, she left him alone on the shore, going to gather my family and my body.

He was silent for a few moments, until he raised his head to the sky and shouted, "You can't leave me, Grasspaw! I love you! You can't leave me now!"

His next words seemed to shatter my soul:

"You promised me forever and always! You _promised!_"

_I know I did, Lichenpaw... But sometimes fate has other plans... _

**_In loving memory of Bennett Grayson Lippens... May you rest in peace, my love. _**

**_Forever and always, Ben... Forever and always. _**

**_With life and love, _**

**_~Nikki_**


	8. Chapter Seven

_Seven ~ Lichenpaw's POV:_

The sun was just beginning to rise over the treetops when I finally entered camp. My eyes were red, the fur under them wet from tears. My ears were tucked back against my head, hoping to drown out the sympathetic murmurs that flowed from each of the cats as Swanleap, Lynxfire, and Blossomtail crowded around the dead body of my lover.

I closed my eyes and kept the tears that threatened to spill at ease. I couldn't cry here; no, not in front of all my Clan. I had to let my sorrows out privately, where no cat could judge me.

I felt the pelts of my Clan members brush against mine momentarily as each padded forward until they stood in front of Grasspaw's body. They bid Grasspaw farewell, touched their noses to his pelt for a moment of silence before dipping their head and murmuring condolences to his family.

I felt a pelt brush against mine. This one didn't move from my side. It just stayed there, its warmth and thick pelt combining with mine.

I turned to find him. My lover, my everything.

Grasspaw was here. Here as a spirit.

_**~~Grasspaw~~**_

"Grasspaw," Lichenpaw's voice cracked with joy and sorrow as he spoke my name. "H-How are you here?"

"I'm a spirit," I answered, twitching my whiskers. "I decided to attend my own farewell ceremony. Felt that if I did, I could do something right..." I looked at him, staring into his eyes as I continued. "Because I know that leaving you wasn't."

Tears shone at the corner of Lichenpaw's eyes, and I flashed a small smile. My gaze was torn from his as we both lay eyes upon my body. There was no blood, no wounds on the thick pale gray fur. There wasn't anything on it for evidence that I was truly gone. Only the sight of my dull, lifeless eyes gave it away.

All of the wounds, all of the hurt, the sorrow... It had all happened inside of me.

I felt something wet land on my ghostly white paw. I looked down to find a small dark gray dot on the fur, and then felt another land in the same spot. I looked up to find Lichenpaw crying softly, his sobs muffled as he settled down on his belly and rested his head in his paws.

"Lichenpaw..." I murmured quietly, stretching out my tail to cup it under his chin. I forced his gaze to meet mine, a small yet sorrowful smile stretching on my muzzle as I spoke. "I-I'm okay, my love. You can let me go now... I'll be okay..."

"I don't want to let you go..." Lichenpaw cried softly, his words coming out in sorrowful gasps. "You're my everything, Grasspaw... I can't let you go."

"You don't have to hold onto me," I murmured.

"Without you, I-I have nothing..."

"No, Lichenpaw." I let out a small purr at his words. "Without me, you have something. You can become anything, Lichenpaw. I won't..." I swallowed harshly, trying to keep my voice steady. "I won't stop you now."

"You never stopped me in the first place, Grasspaw... You were what kept me going."

I felt my heart pound in my chest. "I love you, Lichenpaw. I love you so, so much. But this was my destiny, unfortunately. It was what I was dealt, and the cards I played with backfired on me... I lost the game of life, Lichenpaw. But that doesn't mean you've lost yours..."

"I don't have you," Lichenpaw's golden-amber eyes flashed with hurt. "I lost you, Grasspaw. That hurts more than dying."

**_~~Lichenpaw~~_**

"Lichenpaw..."

I raised my head from my paws and found my leader and mother, Hazelstar, standing before me, her green eyes flecked with sadness. I blinked my eyes at her, feeling drained and unable to say anything to her. I was grieving; there wasn't anything to say.

"Do you wish to spend some alone time with Grasspaw until the elders come out for burial? You've still got a few hours of moonlight left, my dear." My mother rested her cream-and-brown patched tail on my shoulders, trying to comfort me.

I nodded sheepishly, and Hazelstar let out a quiet purr. She helped me to my paws, being as I felt like I couldn't hold myself up or grief would cause me to collapse. I padded at her side the entire five tail-length distance between us and Grasspaw's body. I settled down on my belly next to his head, touching my nose into the cold and now death-scented fur.

Hazelstar licked me in between my ears, the same thing she used to do whenever I was sad. "I'll leave you alone now, my son." She murmured and padded away, slipping inside of her den.

**_~~Grasspaw~~_**

"So that's what my body looks like?" I asked, turning towards the dark brown tabby tom and blue-gray she-cat at my sides.

The dark brown tabby nodded. "Yes, Grasspaw."

I studied my body carefully, squinting my eyes to get a better look from all the way up in StarClan. "It looks like I'm sleeping, Bramblestar."

"Of course it does," murmured the blue-gray she-cat quietly, flicking her ears. "Any cat that has died always looks asleep, Grasspaw. We do that by tradition."

"Shouldn't they be able to see their families faces?"

"They're dead, Grasspaw." The blue-gray she-cat growled. "They cannot see anything once they have passed, and -"

"Patience, Bluestar." Bramblestar soothed calmly. "Grasspaw doesn't know the ways of StarClan just yet..."

Bluestar huffed in response but didn't reply.

I chose this as the time to ask the question I'd been wanting to ask for the last couple of days. "D-Do you think you could send me back in my body, like you did Cinderpelt?"

"Cinderpelt was reincarnated, Grasspaw..." Bramblestar said. "It doesn't work the same as it did back then..."

"StarClan cannot do such wonders anymore." Bluestar meowed, flicking her tail. "We are powerless to do those things now." She places her blue eyes on me, and I saw sorrow flash in them. "I'm sorry, Grasspaw... But there is nothing we can do."


	9. Chapter Eight

_Eight ~ Hazelstar's POV:_

"Do you think I'm sane, mother?"

I looked over at my son, blinking my green eyes quizzically at him. We were sitting outside the camp, underneath the stars and moonlight. It had been only two days since Grasspaw's burial, and no cat had even spoken to Lichenpaw other than myself, Bearclaw, and Furzepaw.

"Of course I do," I meowed, twitching my ears. "Why would you ask such a question?"

His blank, hollow golden-amber eyes met mine. "Because I feel like I'm going crazy..."

I tipped my head to the side. "What exactly do you mean, Lichenpaw?"

He sighed and directed his eyes down to his paws before answering my question. "I see him... I see him wherever I go, whatever I do, and I can feel him with me whenever I sleep."

"Grasspaw? You see Grasspaw all the time?"

He flinched at the mention of the pale gray tom's name, but replied softly, "Yeah."

This made me stop and think for a moment or two. My son, the cat who never showed any sort of emotion, was actually showing some? But it was in the worst way possible. "Come on," I meowed, rising to my paws and shaking out my pelt, "We're going to fetch Quailwhisker and see what she can do about this."

Lichenpaw hissed in reply. "If you get that medicine cat, I'll never forgive you. I don't need medicine."

"What else is going to get rid of the memories of Grasspaw?" I retorted sharply.

"I don't need any medicine, you worrisome ball of fur!"

I flinched at the hateful tone in his voice, the saliva that was dripping from his teeth, and the wild look in his eyes. He stalked towards me, managing to corner me up against a large oak tree.

His muzzle was inches from mine when he spoke, his eyes narrowed and flashing with murder and sorrow. "You don't understand what it's like to lose someone that you love, mother. You don't understand for a single heartbeat the pain that I've been feeling, the loneliness I've had to endure without Grasspaw here with me!"

"You don't love him, Lichenpaw! You were just close to him, that is all it was!"

His eyes flashed with hurt, and I felt guilty for something I didn't even know. "I did so love him, Hazelstar! I loved him more than anything in this world! He was my everything, the only cat that understood me!"

I stared at my son through wide amber eyes. All this time, whenever Lichenpaw would say he loved Grasspaw, I thought it was just some odd thing the two had made between them. Never in my life had I thought that he actually felt something for Grasspaw; and now that I knew, it disgusted me. "You sicken me, Lichenpaw. I never thought, in all my life, would I have a son that... that is just so repulsive."

"Repulsive? You mean to say that just because I love a cat that isn't of a different gender that I'm repulsive?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying, you..." I hated to say this, but it just slipped out: "You tom lover!"

Without another word, I shoved Lichenpaw out of my way and began to trek back to camp, where I could dispose my son for what he was, once and for all.

_**~~Lichenpaw~~**_

"They just don't get it, Lichenpaw. Don't let it bother you."

I turned towards Grasspaw's spirit to find his eyes boring into mine. "How can I not let it get to me?" I asked. "My mother is probably telling every cat back at camp."

"They just don't get you," Grasspaw's voice was soft and soothing. "They just don't get us... They don't understand, but they don't need too."

I flattened my ears against my head. "I just want some cat to understand where I'm coming from..."

Grasspaw flicked his tail modestly. "I understand, Lichenpaw."

I chuckled at his attempt to sound humorous. "I know you do, furball."

"At least someone does," Grasspaw purred.

I couldn't suppress my own purr of amusement. A haunting thought suddenly made its way into my mind. "Grasspaw... What happens if I'm exiled?"

Grasspaw blinked his swampy green eyes at me. "You won't be, my love." he murmured quietly as he suddenly began to fade from eyesight. "In fact, you will be very much praised..."

"Grasspaw!" I shouted against the roaring of the wind that had randomly blew against the trees.

"Go back to camp, my love..." Grasspaw's soft voice drifted from the trees and into my ears. "For there is something great awaiting your arrival..."

I watched as his form and eyes faded from my view. Then, at lightning speed I raced back in the direction of camp.

I was only a few steps away from the entrance, from my home, when something pierced my back with an uncomfortable amount of force. I cried out from the sudden pain, feeling my body contract, coil, and seem to bend in ways I never thought possible. My jaw seemed to stretch, bend, and coil; my body, once lithe and bulky, seemed to change shape so that it was longer.

It was then that darkness overtook me, and I gladly allowed it to do so.

* * *

I awoke with a huge, burning headache.

I opened my eyes to find the sky bright above me, shimmering in the light of the sun. The warmth of the bright rays warmed whatever I was laying on top of, and although quite odd, it felt good. I groaned at the aching sensation in my head and touched my paw to the top of it.

My eyes widened at what I saw.

I didn't have any fur on my foreleg. Or a stinking paw.

Come to think of it, I didn't have any hair on any part of my body except my head.

I was a stinking, furless human.


	10. Chapter Nine

_Nine ~ Lichenpaw's POV:_

There was only one thing that I could do in a situation like this.

So I did it: I ran.

Having no experience running on two legs instead of four, I fell on my face quite a lot. And by the time I reached some weird metal things that others were opening, I was really banged up.

I touched my paw - er, hand - to the cool metal and pulled, surprised to find it open on my tug. I smiled wickedly and let it go, watching it close. Again and again, I repeated the process, the smile growing wider on my face each time.

"You think he's high or something?"

I jumped away from the wide metal thing, startled. I turned my head to find a group of people - three girls, and three guys - standing before me with curious and laughing eyes. One of the girls, who looked an awful lot like Furzepaw, was looking at me oddly.

"Dude," said one of the guys, a tall broad shouldered man with dark brown hair and green eyes. "What the he -"

One of the girls slapped him on the arm, giving him a stern look. "Shut up, Damien!" She shot me a sympathetic glance and smiled at me. Not wanting to be awkward, I smiled back.

The supposed Damien rolled his eyes at the girl and snorted at me. "Don't tell me to shut up, Francesca."

"I'll tell you to shove it up your butt if you think that's better."

"Okay, okay," the girl who looked almost identical to Furzepaw snapped hastily. She looked me up and down for a moment, seeming to study me. "What's your name, dude?"

Seeing as 'dude' wasn't a suitable name, I racked my brain for a second. Finally, I beamed at them and said, "Nikolas. That's my name."

"God," snorted Damien. "Talk about lame."

Francesca slapped him on the arm again and smiled at me, stepping forward and extending her hand. "Nice to meet you, Nikolas. As you've heard, I'm Francesca -" she motioned to the other two girls and guys, naming them all off as she went. "That's Monica and Sam, Zach and Cameron." She jerked her thumb over to Damien, who was rubbing the spot she had slapped him and cursing under his breath. "And that's Damien. Biggest butthead you'll ever meet."

"You're one to talk." Damien grumbled.

I ignored their bickering and focused my attention on the other four behind them. Monica and Sam looked exactly alike, but only Sam's eyes were green and Monica's were blue. Zach was a short yet bulky guy with brown hair that swept down into his hazel eyes; Cameron was a semi-tall and average guy with clear, bright blue eyes, yet his bones could easily be seen through the thick fabric of his shirt. Cameron saw me looking at his body and self-consciously tugged at the arm sleeve of his shirt so that it covered his collarbone.

"So, Nikolas." Damien said, and I directed my attention away from Cameron to him. His eyes were laughing, but his tone was serious and deep as he spoke. "You want to come inside this place?"

I nodded sheepishly. "Uh... What exactly is this place?"

Sam and Monica snorted and lightly pushed past me, smirking. "It's called 'school', Nikolas. Come on, we'll all show you around."

* * *

After hours of being shoved, squashed, and more often-than-not almost stuffed in someone's locker, Sam and Monica led me into what they called the 'cafeteria'.

"What exactly do you do in here?"

Monica snorted and turned to look at me over her shoulder. "You eat, you idiot."

Sam whacked her on the shoulder, smiling sympathetically at me. "Shut up, Monica. He's probably never been in a public school." It was then that she decided to ask me a question: "Have you been home-schooled all your life?"

Not knowing what the heck that meant yet not wanting to seem dumb, I responded with this: "Yeah, totally. It's like, the best thing ever. Go home-schooling!"

"Oh my," Damien said as he walked past Monica, Sam, and I and over to a table, sitting down with the others. "Please, please, please... Don't you ever do that again."

I smirked at him and sat down in between Cameron and Zach, watching the others get up and leave to grab their own food.

"Cam," Zach suddenly broke the silence that happened to be in between all three of us. "Why aren't you eating?"

"Not hungry." Cameron answered, almost automatically. He tugged at the sleeve of his shirt once more, managing this time to keep the shirt from slipping down his shoulders whenever he would move.

"Come on, man. You've got to eat."

"Told you already, Zach: I'm not hungry."

Zach, obviously getting annoyed at Cameron's behavior, grabbed a cookie off of Sam's tray of food and shoved it in Cameron's face. "Eat the stinking cookie!"

Cameron grumbled under his breath and, with a swift flick of his hand, made the cookie fly across the table. "Stop screwing around with me, man." He snapped, his eyes flashing. "I'm not in the mood."

The others smiled sheepishly at me. Sam quickly grabbed a napkin off of Damien's tray and wrote on it in pen, folded it in half then flung it in my direction.

I caught it without looking; it was kind of awesome, actually. Hesitantly but curious, I slowly opened the folded napkin to find this on the top right corner:

Cameron's an anorexic.

**That was rushed, I know... **

**This is going to be the last update for about two weeks, everyone. I'm going on vacation and I'm not allowed to use wifi or I get charged $50, so I won't be updating for a while. But don't worry, I will try and type up some chapters on the way to my destination for you all, so when I get back home I can upload right away(: **

**With life and love,**

**~Nikki**


	11. Chapter Ten

_Ten ~ Lichenpaw's POV:_

I ended up remembering everything that Zach and Cameron had told me earlier, as if I sounded completely dumb when I asked them who they were. Zach had told me that we'd been best friends since elementary, while Cameron joined our little posse in middle school, halfway through seventh grade. Being as I didn't want to give myself away, I acted humble and muttered a quick, "Oh yeah! I remember!"

For a while, silence was the only noise around all of us. Just quiet, peaceful silence. No one bothered to murmur a word, mutter a sentence, or even do something as simple as sneeze. It was quiet; too quiet for my liking.

"Um..." Damien murmured, obviously sensing the awkward tension in the room, "I... Guess that went well?"

"No," Cameron's words came out like a growl and he rose from his chair, shoving it back in its place beside me roughly. "It didn't go well at all." He sent us all once last seething, hateful glare before storming out of the cafeteria. None of us bothered to go after him.

Sam sighed, and everyone's attention was directed to her. "He always does that... It's nothing new." She obviously wanted to go further with her explanation, but she held herself back from doing so. Instead, she lightly poked and prodded at her lunch with a fork, dismissing her comment.

Everyone else was quiet for a moment before Zach broke it again. "You got anywhere to stay?"

I felt Monica lightly kick me in the shin, forcing me out of my daydreaming. I turned to Zach, and realizing his question was obviously directed at me, I stumbled on words for an answer. "Yeah, totally... Okay, maybe... Yeah, no."

Zach smirked at my answers and his eyes flashed with humor. "You want to stay over at my place?"

I couldn't help but smile, and I nodded thankfully at him. "I'd like that. Thanks."

* * *

I'm just going to come out and bluntly state this: Zach wasn't the best driver in the whole world.

After various amounts of swerving, swearing at other drivers who cut him off, and almost getting ran over three times from on-coming vehicles, Zach shoved his front door open and stretched out on the couch. I, having no idea where to place myself, just stood in his doorway like an idiot.

"Welcome, my dear friend," Zach said as he stretched his arms wide, trying to put emphasis on everything in the room, "To my humble home."

I was speechless. Zach's home was amazing, full of vibrant furniture, paintings, and huge amounts of picture frames on all of the walls. His kitchen was huge, his dining room was average with a grand dining table and chairs. Even the upstairs seemed wicked, even though I hadn't been up there yet. But if the rest of Zach's home was cool, shouldn't his bedroom be too?

"It's..." I had to hang my mouth open in order to get words on my tongue and allow them to pass out. "It's amazing."

"Yeah," Zach said, a humorous tone to his voice. "I get that a lot from this place." He shifted his weight so that he was sitting up on the couch. He patted the spot next to him and turned his head so that he was looking at me again. "Come on, sit down. You don't have to stand."

Hesitant yet grateful, I sat down next to him, placing my belongings (which really wasn't anything besides some old, hefty backpack I dug out of the Lost and Found that afternoon) on the ground beside me. Zach smirked and chuckled lowly, grabbing a TV remote and pressing a red button, turning the device on.

I couldn't help but stare at him as he flicked through channels. His brown hair was a buzz-cut and spiked up with hair gel, and his jeans hung loose on his body, seeming to slip down just a small bit each time he would move; his shirt was the only thing close to tight on him, which happened to be just the proper amount of looseness so that he could breathe with the shirt on, yet it was tight on the arms, revealing muscles I never even knew a guy such as himself could possess.

Zach took my silence as an opportunity to speak. "So, Nikolas..."

"You can call me Nikki," I said, taking myself by surprise by how genuine I sounded. "I-I mean, only if you want too..." I felt my face grow hot from embarrassment.

Zach just chuckled again and didn't even bother to glance at me as he continued his task of flicking through the channels once more. "So, Nikki..." My name sounded crisp and cool on his tongue, as if he'd been saying it his entire life. "Care to explain why you're staring at me like that?"

Crap. He noticed.

"Uh..." I racked my brain, trying to come up with an excuse. It was so overwhelming that I ended up practically falling on top of Zach, not even noticing I had done so until his warm hand was placed on my shoulder and lightly shoving me off of him. I forced myself to look up at him, finding his eyes inches from mine, staring into them intently.

"You've got beautiful eyes, Nikki..." Zach murmured quietly, his spearmint gum scented breath hitting my face and making my eyes water from the intensity.

I smiled, feeling a blush creep onto my cheeks. I'd never been told that I've had beautiful eyes, so the term was quite new to me. "T-Thank you..." I said, smiling warmly.

Zach smiled at me as well, and then moved closer to me, the hand that was on my shoulder now coming up to my neck and resting there. He continued to inch towards me, his head dipping low so he could get a better look into my eyes. His lips were parted slightly, finally breaking the tension in the room and placing his own lips on mine. But his eyes were still focused on my own.

I felt my soul melt along with my sense of thought. I moved my mouth against his, harsher than the last and lighter when I felt I was taking things too far. I closed my eyes, breaking the eye contact we both had made and continued to kiss him, feeling his hand crawl slowly up my neck to tangle itself in my hair. I allowed my body to fall back against the couch with Zach hovering over me, our hands roaming each other's bodies and our mouths moving as one.

It was then that I realized I loved my supposed best friend.

And great God did it feel amazing to kiss him.

"Zach..." I murmured against his lips, but he just ignored my comment and continued to kiss me, his hands slipping underneath my shirt to feel my body. I felt myself tremble beneath the coolness of his hands against my sweaty and clammy skin, yet I forced myself not to let him have the satisfactory of knowing that I liked it. His moth was suddenly removed from mine, but only to slip down to my neck, where he began to kiss and nip at the skin lightly as to not draw blood. I let out a groan and forced myself not to tell him to do it again, and I instead guided his lips back to mine.

We finally broke it up, panting from the ordeal. Zach's lips were pink and swollen, along with my own, yet neither of us felt the need to apologize to the other for the actions we both had committed. We did it by instinct, not by force or offer; it was as if I had been waiting for a moment like this my entire life, just as Zach was.

**_Haha! How's that for a double update, everyone? Giving you some mini-lemons so that you can await the next chapter!(; _**

**_Unknown (hopefully) fact about Ben: His real name is Zachary Bennett Grayson, but he hates Zach so he just uses Ben ;) This is seriously how the kissing part went down between us, except... In this they aren't watching a movie r in a dorm room in a college. _**

**_With life and love,_**

**_~Nikki ;)_**


	12. Chapter Eleven: The Chapter of Feels!

_Eleven ~ Nikki's POV**_

From the minute I saw him, I knew he was different.

From the minute he looked directly at me the day I came here, I knew he was unique.

And from the minute he formed words on his tongue and spoke to me for the first time, I knew I liked him, strange as it was.

I was captivated by Zach, in all honesty. I was in a trance that could be broken, a poison that couldn't be cured, or a sleep I couldn't wake up from. But that was fine by me; as long as Zach continued to be this way, to act this way towards me and himself, life could go on in peace.

I loved the curve of his jaw, the movement of his hips whenever he would walk, the humble and serene atmosphere he brought just by stepping into a room... Everything about him was lovable.

It was as if destiny chose this; if fate and destiny desired us to meet sometime in our lives, I'm glad they chose now.

"Are you okay?"

His delicate, feather-like voice drifted into my subconscious and forced me out of my daydreaming. We were driving in the car, I in the drivers seat and Zach in the passenger; he decided it would be funny to watch me drive us to school this morning, and didn't tell me until we were already in the car. He was looking at me with a fearful expression, as if the fact that I hadn't answered him right away worried him out of his wits.

I swallowed harshly and turned my attention to the road, not daring to give him even the slightest glance. "I'm fine."

Zach snorted, as if my answer was meant to be comical. "No, you're not Nikki. You've been staying at my house for two weeks now; I know your facial expressions. This is the guilt-train look."

I was clenching the steering wheel so hard my knuckles were turning white. "I said I'm fine!" I snapped, wanting to end the conversation at that. He fell silent, and I knew I had done something wrong; I instantly felt regretful for making it sound so harsh.

When I finally reached a red light that didn't end up turning green about three seconds after I'd fully stopped, I turned to look at Zach. He was staring out the window, drawing little pictures on the rain-dotted window; his features and eyes were hollow, and I knew I had hurt his feelings. I felt the rush of guilt hit me like a semi-truck. "Zach," I murmured, silently praying and pleading with God that he would just look at me.

I sighed in relief as, after a few moments of the rain and my tires on the slick road being the only noises, he finally turned his head and looked at me with tired light brown eyes. "I'm sorry... I hadn't meant for it to come out like that..."

He shrugged off my apology with a wave of his hand. "It's okay, Nikki. I know you didn't mean it like that." The hollow and saddened tone in his voice didn't match the look in his eyes. We fell back into the deep silence as we finished the twenty minute drive to school.

Storm clouds were gathering as we turned into Zach's parking spot, and the rain was coming down harder than ever. It looked like we would be staying in his car for a few minutes, hopefully not missing the first bell, until the rain let up.

"Hey," I said, breaking the silence. I reached forward and brought my hand up to Zach's cheek, caressing it gently with my thumb and looking into his light brown eyes. "Are you okay?"

The corners of Zach's mouth twitched with the beginning of a smile. But his eyes were sad, flecked with tears at the corners. "I'm fine, Nikki. You don't have to worry about me, really."

I gave him a stern look. "You're not fine, Zach. I can see the look on your face and in your eyes; you look like you want to start crying. What's wrong?"

He said nothing, only bit his lip so hard that blood started to come out of the spot where he tore off skin.

"Zach, come on. Tell me what's bugging you."

"It's nothing important," he said flatly.

"It's obviously important if you're crying, Zach."

He wiped at his face harshly and drew back his hand, stunned at the sight of tears; it was as if he'd never seen such a thing before.

I smiled at the look on his face and chuckled to myself inwardly. My tone grew serious and concerned as I ask him, yet again what was wrong.

He finally gave in to my begging and, with a sad whimper emitting from his throat, lifted up his shirt and threw on the ground beside him...

_**(Readers, if I may: Now would be the time to grab tissues!)**_

Scars lined each arm; some light and fading, others dark and deep. There were bandages on each of his wrists, and I could see small dots of blood if I looked close enough. The scars reached up all the way to his shoulders and cascaded down to his stomach, where the huge, bloody and gruesome things scored down his body as well.

I was speechless for a few moments before I cleared my throat and spoke, my voice hoarse and shocked. "Zach... Who did this to you?"

I looked up to find tears running down his face and his eyes gleaming with shame in himself. "Myself... I did it to myself."

My mouth hung open and I lost my voice for a minute. "Why? What gave you the -"

"The desire to do this?" He took the words right out of my mouth. "You don't want to know what's happened in my seventeen years of life, Nikki. It's a place I try to forget, a memory I try to shove away... It's a time I never want to repeat." He sniffed, wiping at his tears as he continued with his statement. "I would draw pictures on my body to help myself cope... As you can see of all these scars. Sometimes I wouldn't even draw; I would just cut... Felt that -" he paused to get air in his lungs before he broke down in sobs, putting his head in his hands and leaning into me. "Felt that i-if I had some physical pain... I-It would get rid of the emotional pain..."

It was a moment after I had soothed his cries that I too removed my shirt to show him what I had. "Look," I said, my voice breaking as I showed him what was lining my body. "I draw, too..."

_**Oh, hey guys... So, long story short, I got delayed in Cleveland for two hours, then flew over to Chicago and missed my business flight to Germany, so I ended up staying in Chicago and I had the time to type this. I cried so hard as this is personally what I did with Ben... Ugh, so many feels!**_

_**With life and love (and hopefully not tears),**_

_**~Nikki **_


	13. Chapter Twelve

_Twelve ~ Nikki's POV**_

The car was silent as Zach and I watched each other carefully, his light brown eyes trained and focused intently on the scars that lined my wrist, and my sharp, baby blue eyes focused on his own. He went ahead and traced a scar with the tip of his finger; just the feel of his fingertip trailing along my scars, the memories and pain of my long and harsh childhood made me feel very...uncomfortable, so to speak.

I drew away slowly, taking a deep breath. "Do... Do you want to blow off school for the day?" It was already fifth period; we were most likely marked as absent, and it probably wouldn't be very good it just pop into my math class and Zach's chemistry class without having a good explanation.

He hesitated for a moment, as if he truly felt it would be better to go inside the school for the rest of the day. But he finally, after a moment or two, nodded in consent. Zach smirked at me and jerked his thumb over his shoulder, indicating he wanted to drive us home; I chuckled and did what he silently requested, switching spots with me in under twenty seconds.

Even the car ride home was quiet. Sure, Zach and I small-talked, but it never escalated above the standard, "Are you okay?" "Yeah, just thinking..." type. What I found odd was that Zach's gaze was distant, as if he were thinking of something he desperately wanted to forget.

It was when we were already inside Zach's house did he bother to speak. "How'd you get your scars?"

I flinched at the mention of 'scars'. For the longest time, I had even forgotten those scars existed on my arms, wrists, chest and shoulders; but now it was as if they were fresh and unable to hide.

Zach noticed my flinch and the distant look in his eyes dulled. "God, Nikki... I'm sorry, I didn't want to pressure you into saying anything..." He sat down on the couch and fiddled with a loose string on his shirt, trying to get the awkwardness in the room to subside on its own.

The guilty and ashamed-of-myself look on Zach's face was enough to make me smile. I sat down next to him and reached forward, cupping his chin underneath my palm and forcing his eyes to lock with mine. Without looking, I snatched up the remote to his stereo behind us and clicked the power button, turning it on. By Your Side by Tenth Avenue North started, which just so happened to be my favorite song of all time, and I was surprised Zach even had this song; he always told me how much he hated sappy and romantic songs, yet he had this!

I rose from the couch gently, smiling with each passing second I wasted awaiting the correct moment to ask him. Zach gave me a weird look, as if I were on crack or doing some sort of whacky drug that made me smile a lot. I outstretched my hand, took a deep breath to calm myself and then asked him:

"May I have this dance?"

_**Zach's POV ~**_

I was stunned, really. When the words "dance" and "may I" came out of Nikki's mouth, I was completely and utterly shocked. Never in my life had I been asked to dance! Perhaps I should've gone to homecoming this year, then I would at least have some experience. I took his hand with shivers of excitement running up and down my spine. His hand was warm and smooth, and he smelled of cologne that you could only get at one of those fancy-shmancy stores in the mall.

The song continued to play on repeat, and this was the second time it was playing. I allowed Nikki to lead me into the center of our living room, on the plush and soft carpet that was beneath our feet. He took my left hand and guided my right to his shoulder, where it rested there while he placed his own right hand on my waist. But we didn't waltz or anything like that; we just rocked back and forth, swaying to the music in a slow motion. Our fingers entwined and I sighed in contempt, staring into Nikki's eyes with love in my own. His eyes brimmed with tears, and I placed a soft and sweet kiss on his forehead as he hummed to the music playing in the background. For now, it was just him and I. For now, we could do whatever we wanted.

For now, we could be ourselves.

And God, did it feel amazing to be myself with Nikki.

_Nikki**_

We stayed like that for what seemed like hours on end. Just Zach and I, swaying back and forth to my favorite song. Zach suddenly broke away from me, and just as I was about to ask what was wrong he captured me in a heated kiss. I tensed, unprepared for the sudden attack, and then melted like ice into him.

Electricity shot through my body as Zach continued to kiss me, his hands roaming my body in several different ways. Finally, he let a hot growl escape his vocal cords and hoisted me up so that I could wrap my legs around his waist; his light brown eyes were full of lust, devotion, and possibly sorrow, which I found odd. But I didn't say anything as he carried me to his bedroom, set me down on the bed before shutting the door and locking it from the outside so that I couldn't escape.

He bit his lower lip and suddenly flung himself at me, tackling me and pinning me down against the bed for what seemed like hours as he planted kisses all over my body - from my forehead all the way down to where the tops of my plaid shorts were.

The rest, sadly, is just a blissful memory.

A memory I never want to forget.


	14. Chapter Thirteen

_Thirteen ~ Nikki's POV**_

I awoke to the sounds of puking and harsh coughing.

Blinking sleep from my eyes, I felt around on the left side of the bed, hoping to find Zach sleeping peacefully beside me. But instead of his warm, muscular frame I was putting my hand on, there was only the cold sheets of the bed.

I heard a sharp and painful groan from the floor, and felt panic rise in my throat. Quickly crawling to the other side of the bed in just my boxers, I found him.

Zach was curled up in a ball on the floor, the putrid odor of blood strong enough to make me gag. He was groaning and moaning in pain, and blood trickled in a thick river down his chin. His gaze was blank and his features were hollow, which worried me.

I leapt off of the bed and crouched by his side, sweeping his sweaty black hair out of his eyes so I could get a good look at him. He was pale as snow, with sweat running down his forehead and his breathing ragged and painful; his sharp baby blue eyes were dull and lifeless, as if he were dead. But I knew he wasn't.

"Babe," I said, tears coming to the corners of my eyes at the sight of him. "What's wrong? What did you do?"

Zach coughed again, this time blood coming out instead of what should've been mucus. His body then convulsed once, twice, three times before he threw up even more of the stuff. There was nothing but plead and pain in his eyes as he looked up at me and said meekly, his voice soft like a feather, "Help me..."

_**Zach's POV ~ **_

I watched Nikki dash off into the other room, and come back within a minute. He had his cell phone up to his ear and was cursing at the medics under his breath, shooting me worried glances whenever he would be put on hold. I felt more blood rise in my throat, threatening to spill and make me throw up, but I held it down for a good five minutes before I had to expel it out of my system. I lay back in a pool of my own blood by my head and hoped that someone - anyone - would come to my aid.

Nikki finally got off the phone and crouched down by my head, slowly bringing it into his lap and looking down at me. "They're coming, Zach. Just hang on a bit more..." His voice cracked and tears began to flow from both of our eyes, afraid that we may never see the other again. Our tears melded and formed into one, just like our souls had.

After what seemed like hours, a loud knock on the door sounded and Nikki jolted awake. I quickly leaned over and threw up in the large painting bucket Nikki had grabbed for me; it was almost filled to the top with my blood. Nikki planted a soothing kiss on my head before resting my head back on the floor to go grab whoever was at the door. Moments later he returned, with three girls trailing after him, two brunettes wheeling a stretcher behind them and the other, a blonde, giving me small, sympathetic smiles.

The two loaded me onto the stretcher as smoothly and quickly as possible, while the blonde girl was trying to calm Nikki down, telling him that I would be fine in the morning and I just needed to go to hospital for a night to monitor me. He didn't look convinced, yet told her it was okay. Within minutes I was inside an ambulance with Nikki having a cobra-like grip on my hand, his head bent down so that it rested on the side of the stretcher.

It felt like forever until we reached the hospital. When we did, however, I didn't even get to tell Nikki goodbye because I was already being dragged away with doctors, nurses, and more medical staff around me, chattering like birds. All the while I continued to puke and cough up blood, my clothes getting even more stained than they already were; I also stained the closest doctor's nice, pressed white lab coat.

Oops.

"We're losing him!" shouted the doctor I had stained with my blood. I felt my eyelids droop and sag, like I hadn't slept in over a week. I felt myself being prodded, poked, and lightly shoved with needles from IV lines.

I allowed darkness to take me, just like an new memory would an old one.

_Nikki's POV**_

Zach was in the hospital for about two weeks. During that time, I merely sat in the waiting room, not wanting to eat or sleep until I knew he was okay.

Finally, the blonde nurse I had met that night came up to me and greeted me with a friendly smile. I rose from my seat, my gaze worried, but she placed a hand on my shoulder and gently pushed me back into it. "Zach is fine," she said sweetly, her voice like honey. "He's just been getting rest these last few days after his long battle of throwing up and coughing blood. We had to do two blood transfusions, but he was okay when he woke up from them."

"Can I see him, at least?" I asked, my heart pounding in my chest in fear that she would say no.

"Of course!" She said, her dark green eyes sparkling. "Go straight and then turn left. Room number 105."

"Thank you." I nodded to her and dashed down the hallway, running and dodging several wait staff that were pushing carts down the hall and cursing at me whenever I would make them swerve out of their path and crash into different carts. I shoved open his door with excitement running through my bloodstream, and stopped in my tracks, my excitement dead as I looked at him.

I could barely see his face through all the monitors hooked up to him, creating a wall-like space around him from all angles. The constant beeping of several machines were the only sounds in the room. His mouth was covered by a oxygen mask, and only the fog that would appear every few seconds was the only thing to insure that Zach was alive.

I maneuvered my way to his bedside, having to lightly move some of the monitors in order to actually fit through the tight space; tears welled in my eyes as I looked down upon him, his features hollow and his eyes closed. I sat down beside him and took his hand in mine, flinching at how cold his hand was compared to my own, which was warm and radiating with heat.

I wanted to scream, cry, and possibly break something all in the same moment. I silently begged God to let Zach live, to save him, to make him wake up... And, as if by some odd miracle, Zach's eyes fluttered open and he smiled weakly at me through the mask.

I broke into a huge and relieved smile, glad that he was okay like the nurse had said. "Oh my gosh," I said as I starting crying from happiness instead of grief and sorrow. "You're... You're okay!"

The door to Zach's room suddenly opened, and a bulky man stepped through, followed by the blonde nurse from earlier. The blonde's eyes were hollow and glazed with something I didn't recognize; even the man's expression was sorrowful, as if they had news that neither wanted to share.

Zach removed the oxygen mask from his face and asked in a ragged and husky voice, "Well, doc? Anything?" I sent him an odd look, wondering what he was talking about. He sent me one back that was clear: Don't say anything and just listen.

The doctor sighed and rubbed his eyes beneath his large glasses, seeming tired. He and the nurse looked Zach straight in the eye and, with voices broken like glass and sympathetic flashes passing through each pair of eyes, told Zach and I the summary of the problem:

"Your tests came back positive, Zachary. I'm afraid that you do, in fact, have stage four of leukemia..."


	15. Chapter Fourteen

_Fourteen ~ Zach's POV ~_

I felt Nikki stiffen and recoil into the bed sheets beside me, as if he were just punched in the face by the doctor.

"That can't be happening... This can't happen to someone so young, can it?!" the words came out of my mouth and seemed to stick like sandpaper.

The doctor looked at me sadly, his light green gaze meeting my stormy, sharp baby blue. "It can happen to anyone at any age, time, or setting. I'm so sorry, Zachary... But there's nothing you - or us - can do." His gaze flitted over to Nikki, who had sat up straight and faced the doctor with a stern look in his eye. The doctor hesitated for a moment before he looked back at me and asked, "Is this one of your relatives?"

I heard a low, agitated growl come deep within Nikki, and I reached to take his hand in mine; without looking at me, he grasped my hand so tightly I could feel it going numb from not a lot of circulation.

"Actually," Nikki growled, his light brown eyes flashing menacingly, "I happen to be his boyfriend." He fixed both the doctor and the nurse a seething look. "Do you have some sort of problem with that?"

Both the doctor and nurse replied quickly, "No! No, we don't!"

Nikki snorted and wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to his side. "Seems like you do, from that disgusted look on your faces." His eyes were burning pits of fire now, and I suddenly felt afraid of him.

"We do not have a problem," the nurse snapped.

"We just never get people like this in our hospital." the doctor said, though the look in his eyes didn't even match the disgusted tone in his voice.

Nikki rolled his eyes and snorted once more before changing the subject. "So how long until he can be released from this place?"

The nurse examined a few sheets of paper on a clipboard. She gave Nikki and I a cheerful yet sorrowful smile. "He needs to remain here until we see that he's stable."

I snorted in mockery. "I am so stable! What do you take me for, a jello-limbed human being that can't stand on his own?"

The nurse's soft expression twisted into one of anger. But, before she could even get a word out, the doctor beat her to it.

"Zachary, we just -"

"Zach. Call me Zach, if you won't mind." the words came out like a command rather than a simple request.

The doctor cleared his throat and I rested my head on Nikki's shoulder, trying to keep myself under control. If I cried now, everyone - including my parents - would know about it and they wouldn't be happy.

"Zach," the doctor said briskly. "There's nothing we can do to cure this. A disease such as this, especially since it's the highest rate, is simply in curable."

"Liar!" Nikki protested modestly, quickly rising to his feet with his jaw clenched. "There has to be some way!"

The nurse suddenly took over the conversation, not even allowing the doctor to get any retort out of his lungs. Instead, it was her who snapped back, "Do you want that boy to die or not? There's not possible way, in sort of mankind, that cancer can be cured! It's something that people have to live with whenever they are diagnosed."

"You mean something people have to die with." I could tell Nikki was angered by the tension he emitted off of himself and into the air. The thick walls of tension, sadness, and shock almost made me dizzy.

The nurse laughed heartily like he'd just pulled off a funny joke.

I felt Nikki's warm hand squeeze mine, as if to say: I won't let her touch you, or even get an inch too close.

**_Nikki ~_**

"Ohmigod," Sam and Monica said at the same moment, shock filling each of their eyes. "He's got cancer?!"

I nodded and absentmindedly looked around the room, trying to get my attention on something else other than Zach's cancer. Sam, Monica, and Damien had come over soon after I had left the hospital in a rage, and I was grateful for the comfort.

Damien sat back farther against the couch, looking up at the ceiling as he said, "You need some ice cream and soap operas, man. Those Lifetime soaps have so many feelings it's not even funny."

I fixed my gaze on him, staring like he was on crack.

"It's a serious matter, not a breakup!" Monica shouted at Damien, her eyes blazing with sympathy and anger.

"Ohmigod, Damien. You can't tell someone who knows another person that has cancer to go watch soap operas and eat ice cream! That's not how it works, you idiot!" Sam agreed, shooting him a glare from the corner of her eye.

Damien held up both hands, as if surrendering to our arguments. "Well, _sorry_!"

"You should be." Sam sent him one last glare before turning back to me. "Can we drive over and see him?"

"Wasn't he supposed to be home already?" Monica asked, suddenly confused.

I nodded in answer to both their questions. I addressed Monica's more, since it was partly true. "You're right, Monica; he was supposed to be home last weekend. But they ended up keeping him another week because of his reaction to this medicine he had taken the night before."

"Well, come on!" Sam shouted, jumping to her feet and running to the front door, swinging it open with a loud bang. "Let's go see him!"

I smirked at her and followed them all the way to my car, a special something weighing heavy in my pocket alongside my keys.

_**Okay, guys... I've been getting a lot of flame PMs on how much this story is unrealistic and too fast paced. I don't agree with any of it; this is our love story from the very beginning. It's all true and it all happened in the same order. **_

_**I really, honestly, and truly did this; I have done everything that is human-based in this story. In the cat version, the chapters where Grasspaw and Lichenpaw avoided one another were true as well; just that we weren't climbing trees XD. **_

_**I really hope you guys enjoy this FanFiction, and if you don't... well, I guess that's okay too. I guess I'm just glad people aren't being rude in reviews and saying:**_

_**"This story is so unrealistic! Take it down or I'll report it!"**_

_**"This is so fast paced I don't even know what I'm reading."**_

_**"This is just pure disgusting. Why would two cats -toms, for that matter- feel that way about each other? It's just not natural."**_

_**"I want to throw up so badly right now."**_

_**That's only some of the PMs I've received from all kinds of FF authors all in the Warrior Fandom...**_

_**Thank you all for reading this and liking it... If you feel the same as these authors do, then you should probably stop reading this now. **_

_**With life and love,**_

_**~Nikki**_


	16. Author Note (Flames are most welcome)

Readers and reviewers:

Everyone! Hi! It's the guy that has supposedly died from cancer just over a month ago: yeah, that's right, it's Ben!

Time for you to be super confused and probably yell and scream from confusion and anger, but allow me to explain:

I've been away for just a little over a month now in Barcelona, Spain doing some work for charity. Nikki has been filling in for me during that time and I realize that he has stated that I have passed on - which is NOT TRUE WHATSOEVER.

I have called our wedding off - simple as that because of what he's done to all of you. He and I are no longer together, and I'm glad, to say the least.

You're all probably super, super angry and confused right now and I apologize for that.

Needless to say, this account, after I've read some reviews Guests have left on Stripes, is no longer going to be written on. I feel that I need to give Petalwish a break from FanFiction, which I am going to do. I will be making an all new account and will post these:

Warriors: Like Father, Like Daughter

Warriors: Stripes

on there and WILL CONTINUE THEM SOLELY AS THEY WERE STARTED. Which means Stripes will be continued without all the author notes!

Time for all the flames because I've confused and angered all of you!

PM the account Petalfire for more information.

~ Ben :D


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